Life is just a bit different for those of us living in the country …

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Duh … Let There Be Light!

When I told my sister on our recent visit that I loved the light inside of her new dryer, she looked at me kind of funny. “My old dryer had a light in it, too,” she said. “I’ll bet yours does, too. You probably just need to change the bulb.”

I have had my Maytag dryer for almost 15 years – since the year before Sports Girl was born. It’s served me well, but I don’t ever remember there being a light inside of it. But when I was doing my next load of laundry back at home, I checked it out.

Sure enough – I noticed a night-light sized bulb just inside the door at the top. I had to stoop over and look up to see it, but it was there. And by chance, I happened to have a replacement bulb just the right size – I had them on hand for use in the night light in Busy Toddler’s room.

So I replaced the bulb, and voila! I now have a light that comes on whenever I open my dryer door! It’s not quite as bright, but it works on the same principle as the light in my refrigerator, except I’m not embarrassed by how dirty it is inside of my dryer – which is a definite bonus.

On a similar note, a friend recently told me about her latest “Duh” moment.

“Do you know how to tell what side the gas tank is on from inside the vehicle?” she asked. I didn’t.

“There’s a rather large arrow by the gas gauge that points to it,” she explained. “Someone just pointed that out to me today. I never noticed it before.”

I checked the next time I got into my vehicle – the one I’ve owned for more than two years and have driven for 50,000 miles. And there it was – an arrow pointing towards the driver’s side, which is where the gas tank is filled.

There’s probably been a similar arrow on the gas gauge of every vehicle I’ve driven for the whole 23 years I’ve had my license. Had I known, I wouldn’t have ever had to open my driver’s side door and hang out to peer at the rear of my vehicle. I know I have done this more than once over the years to confirm the presence of the gas tank or lack thereof before pulling up to the pump.

I wish there could have been some solace for me in our mutual lack of awareness on this gas tank arrow, but I wonder … does she know there’s a light inside of her dryer? I’m afraid to ask.